ELR Citation: ELR 20295
No(s). 122 (N.Y. Oct 18, 2001)

The court held that a riparian owner may dredge public underwater lands if dredging is necessary to provide reasonable access to navigable waters and does not unreasonably interfere with the rights of the owner. A petroleum storage facility that operates on a bay sought to dredge the basin near its dock to maintain adequate depth for its barges. The facility received permission from the federal and state government but failed to seek permission from the town that owned the underwater land. The trial court denied the town's request for an injunction, but an appellate court reversed, holding that an upland owner has no riparian right to dredge public underwater lands in the absence of the public owner's permission. The court holds that neither a riparian owner nor an underwater landowner has an unfettered veto over reasonable land uses necessary to the other's acknowledged rights. Moreover, common-law adjudication has established the riparian owner's right to reasonable access, and nothing in those cases would preclude the facility in this case from dredging to preserve such access if the dredging was necessary and did not unreasonably interfere with the rights of the town. Because this standard was not applied below, the court reverses the appellate court's order and remands the case to the trial court.

Counsel for Respondent
Anthony J. Sabino
Sabino & Sabino
92 Willis Ave., Mineola NY 11501
(516) 294-3199

Counsel for Appellant
Nicholas J. Damadeo
Law Offices of Nicholas J. Damadeo
14 Loft Rd., Smithtown NY 11787
(516) 932-7700

Kaye, J. Before Smith, Levine, Ciparick, Wesley, Rosenblatt, and Graffeo, JJ.